who woke up the 800 pound gorilla in the living room?

I'm surprised it took so long for the idea to come to light. it's hilarious to me that it's actually news to people. And now, with Hillary Clinton crying sexism as the reason for her loss, the gorilla gains a hundred more pounds. While there definitely have been sexist episodes and comments during the campaign so far, how many people are voting against Hillary just because she's a woman? In fact, she's got a huge group of people who are voting for her because she's a woman, just like there is a group of people who are voting for Barack Obama because he's black. But the 900 pound gorilla that's going to climb onto Obama's back during the regular election is the fact that a large group of people will be voting against him for no reason other than the fact that he's black. The election results and exit polls in Kentucky and West Virginia are proof positive that a large portion of Hillary's voter base, the so-called "working-class whites", might be less voting for Hillary than voting against Obama.

Now are all these people card-carrying racists? Probably not in the sense that we've defined racism, as hood-wearing or skin-headed radicals, which is why the average white person would say that there is no longer a problem with prejudice or racism in the country. White people, and even some blacks, think that things like affirmative action are outdated and have no purpose in the new millennium. The problem is, however, the fact that racism never went away, it evolved. Politicians no longer stand on courthouse steps and shout their prejudiced opinions for all to hear, they simply act on them and feign horror at the idea of being a racist. Much the same happens in corporate America and everywhere else there are people who have control over the lives of others, which is why blacks, in general, are less educated, less employed, less affluent, and more likely to be convicted of or the victim of crime than whites. Is it some conspiracy created and executed by "The Man" and his minions? Even Rev. Wright doesn't believe that. But what the Kentucky and West Virginians basically confessed to is what black folks have been telling the rest of America since King died: racism didn't go away, it went underground.

Face it, nobody wants to be branded a racist, not even the most hardcore. Even skinheads claim that they're only pro-white, not anti any other race, in an attempt to appear mainstream. It's not cool to be racist anymore, but don't think everybody is keeping up with what's in style. I actually admire the Kentuckians and West Virginians for being honest about how they feel. But they're used to not being cool, so it probably wasn't much of a stretch. What's unfortunate is the fact that poor, uneducated white folks have much more in common with black and Hispanic folk than anybody wants them to know. The rich republicans want the poor folks isolated and uninformed, to keep them from understanding the choices they have available to them. Right now, poor white folks have the choice between someone who has spent his adult life helping people like them, versus the continuation of policies that have hurt everyone but the rich. I see that because I see the candidates and their positions and records, poor white folks see a black Muslim who hates white people running against a white person.

Between now and November, Obama's got a huge task ahead of him, much more significant than even the know-it-all pundits suspect. It's not enough that he prove himself the better candidate because of his character and platform, he has to convince people that he's not all the things that people say he is (I've even heard of a website that proclaims he's the anti-Christ).

I'm sure when it's all over, that gorilla will be a lot bigger, and irritable because he couldn't sleep through it all.